Our Foundations Poem by Jim Yerman

There was a time when we were children
when we loved everyone…indiscriminately…
when we were pouring the foundation
of who we, one day, hoped to be.

Mixed into the foundation
of who we hoped to be
were the beginnings of a dream
of the world we hoped to see.

When our foundation was completed…when it dried
there we hoped to find
a house built on acceptance
on being loving, compassionate and kind.

But when we looked around us
at the diversity of our world…and of our nation
we found every house was not built
upon the same foundation.

And we came to understand and appreciate
what many before us have known:
How every house, no matter the foundation
has a beauty all its own.

And so our dream amidst such diverse foundations
is that everyone will come to find
a world that is accepting
that is loving, compassionate and kind.

Which is why, as adults, we are so sad today…
when we see so much hate
when we kill each other so indiscriminately…
and we wonder when did our world turned into
the world we never dreamed that it would be.